NCJ Number
81438
Date Published
1978
Length
80 pages
Annotation
This report contains a comparative analysis of victimization rates in urban, suburban, and rural households, using data from the 1974 National Crime Survey (NCS).
Abstract
The data were gathered from a nationwide probability sample of about 60,000 households. Significant findings indicate that in each population area, the chances that a household will be victimized are greater than the chances that a person will be victimized. For both personal and household victimization, urban rates are greater than suburban rates which, in turn, exceed rural rates. The difference between urban and suburban rates is less than the difference between suburban and rural rates. The positive associations between the extent of urbanization and the likelihood of personal and household victimization are independent of personal or household characteristics. Regional criminal justice planners could use these data to help make resource allocation decisions and in designing programs to reduce victimization. For example, resource allocation designed to reduce larceny would give equal resources to urban and suburban areas and fewer resources to rural areas. Future research should focus on lifestyles, values, norms, and attitudes in urban, suburban, and rural areas to examine the quality of life in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan settings and its relationship to victimization. Figures, five notes, and five references are included. A sample of the NCS form is provided. (Author abstract modified)